Aunt Dowla had recently visited Upasni Maharaj at Sakori. On February 24th, (1923) she narrated before Baba and the mandali what she had witnessed there: “Maharaj has become very weak, imprisoned in a small bamboo cage. He has not left that cage once in three months, remaining seated inside it… . He is often heard repeating Merwan’s name. He seems to long to see Merwan.”
Gulmai K. Irani had also been to Sakori recently, and she revealed that Maharaj had complained to her: “Why did Merwan have my life published? That book will drag me into trouble. It is not good! I don’t want people to know of me!”
He also complained about those at Sakori: “Tell them to stop performing arti before me. I don’t want to be worshiped! And I am planning to take samadhi in this pinjra (cage) and die!”
Distressed, Gulmai inquired, “What is the purpose of your sitting in this cage?”
Angrily, Maharaj replied, “It is on account of you! And on account of the whole world! What do you expect? What does the world expect from me? When one’s eyesight becomes weak, one has to wear spectacles; so when I am unable to do anything for the good of the world, I have to do this.”
Gulmai then pleaded, “How long will you remain in this cage?”
Maharaj cryptically responded, “Still there is time; when I do come out I shall either leave Sakori or leave this body!”
Hearing these stories, Meher Baba remained quiet for quite a while and then spoke this also seemingly cryptic sentence: “It is better to die than to live; better to fear than to die; better to fill than to fear; and better to do, or make, than to fill!”
The mandali were at a loss to understand these words, and the Master explained them in his own inimitable way:
To die does not mean the ordinary death of the body, but the real death of the ego; that is, to die before death, which amounts to becoming one with God.
To fear is not to be taken literally. To fear means to be in the state of one created, in spite of realizing one’s self as the Creator, or God. This is the state of a normal-conscious Perfect Master which is more difficult to attain and spiritually superior to that of a majzoob – one who remains eternally immersed in the Ocean of divinity, intoxicated continuously.
To fill means to fill the hearts of people with the wine of divine knowledge.
To do or make is the highest possible attainment. It means to make others perfect like yourself. To do for others what you have done for yourself! To make them like yourself in terms of power, knowledge, authority and duty! This is the most supreme state, the state of being a Perfect Master.
The meaning of my words is that it is better to be one with God than to lead a worldly life; better to return to normal consciousness after Union with God than to remain divinely absorbed; better to fill the hearts of others with divine love than to remain indifferent to humanity; and better to make others one with God than merely to fill their hearts with love!
Lord Meher, Original Publication, Bhau Kalchuri, Vol. 2, pp. 484 – 485.